A representative dish of Colombia
The tamal are so traditional, that even in some songs they are named, to the sound of the tiple and the guitar. As in the case of the song Los Cucaracheros in the interpretation of Garzón and Collazos, which reads as follows: “He who has not gone to Monserrate with his girlfriend in Bogotá does not know what cinnamon or chocolate tamale is.” Tamal are generally made with dough made from corn (or rice depending on the region) , chickpeas, chicken, bacon, eggs, and vegetables. The ingredients are wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed in a large pot for several hours. In Bogotá, the most common tamale you will find is the Tamal Tolimense (from the Tolima region). You can recognize these delicacies by their shape ; they are rounded and wrapped like a light bulb. The other type of Tamal that you will find in Bogotá is the Santafereño, which can be identified by its rectangular shape. Fray Bernardino de Sahagún related a couple of omens about the preparation of the tamal. If it occurred to a ...